A power converter such as an inverter device, a servo amplifier device, and a switching power supply device contains a power semiconductor switching element. In the power semiconductor switching element, a conductive state between a first main terminal and a second main terminal changes according to an electric signal that is applied between a first signal input terminal and a second signal input terminal. A gate driving circuit applies the electric signal between the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal of the power semiconductor switching element to drive the power semiconductor switching element.
As a related art, a power converter is known which generates a divided voltage by dividing a voltage between the main terminals of the power semiconductor switching element by an electric component, transmits the divided voltage to the gate driving circuit, and changes a driving method of the power semiconductor switching element according to the divided voltage transmitted to the gate driving circuit (for example, refer to Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
In Patent Literature 1, the divided voltage obtained by dividing the voltage between the main terminals of the power semiconductor switching element by a resistor is generated and transmitted to the gate driving circuit. A structure of the gate driving circuit is disclosed which includes a current driving unit for injecting a current into the first signal input terminal of the power semiconductor switching element according to the divided voltage.
In addition, in Patent Literature 2, a divided voltage obtained by dividing a voltage between the main terminals of the power semiconductor switching element by two capacitors is generated and transmitted to the gate driving circuit. The two capacitors for generating the divided voltage are molded in a single package to form an element module. When the divided voltage becomes higher than a reference value, a built-in FET part is turned off and operates so that the gate driving circuit has a high impedance.